What Do You Write With?

From author to author, we each have our own little fetishes about what we write with. Some prefer loose notebook paper and pen. Others like notebooks of any sort. Real purists even use fountain pens. And still others prefer their computer.

I’ll admit that there is a little twitch of something when I write by hand. The scratching of the pen on the paper. But when it comes right down to it, I type so much quicker than I can write with a pen. So, my preference is to use a computer. If I had my way, I’d have a nice laptop that I could carry about and use wherever. My budget doesn’t yet allow for that, so I’m stuck to using my desktop computer at home. It does the trick nicely enough, it just isn’t portable.

Despite my preference for a computer, there isn’t always one nearby. So, I’ve taken up the habit of keeping a small notebook in my pocket with a pen. It’s a cheap Wal*Mart knock-off of a Moleskine pocket ruled notebook. Frankly, I think I should have spent the extra money for the Moleskine, but it’ll do for the here and now. My little pocket notebook gives me the ability to write down little bits and ideas whenever they pop up. And it’s very handy.

I also have a large Moleskine notebook sitting at my desk. It doesn’t get used as much as the other notebook, or even the computer, but it gets a bit. For both, I am currently using a Pilot G2 pen. It’s got a nice fine point and the ink is relatively fast drying so there is little smearing. It also doesn’t bleed through too badly.

When it comes to the hard core computer writing, I have a bit of a more complex set up. Obviously, since my desktop doesn’t travel with me, I needed to find a way to take my stuff with me. For that, I’ve got a Western Digital 120GB passport USB drive. It works well for carrying around my data. Some are content to type away in Word or Notepad. It’s too disorganized for me. I’ve tested a few softwares. Each of them had to have one requirement. Free. The one I finally settled on was yWriter. It’s created by an author, which lends to it’s usability. It’s simple, yet allows for fairly robust control over structure and plot. With it, I can keep notes on each chapter, scene, and on the book overall. It’s got a word counter if you need that (Helpful for nanowrimo) and even gives you a count for the day if you want that as well.

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